Now & Then is the fifth album from The Carpenters, released on May 16, 1973. In Cash Box Year-End Charts of 1973, Now & Then appeared at number 20 and the title for the album was suggested by Richard and Karen's mother, Agnes Carpenter. This is a great cd for anyone looking for some classic Carpenters!
The legendary Four Brothers reed section of Woody Herman's famous "Second Herd" big band of 1947, (Herbie Steward, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Serge Chaloff) is reimagined and reinvigorated by jazz icons Harry Allen, Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart and Gary Smulyan on the exciting, swinging and audacious recording of The Candy Men by Harry Allen's All Star New York Saxophone Band. Offering a sensational set of twelve bop-infused tunes containing some hard-driving, mid-tempo swing pieces to breathy and bossa-styled ballads, one sampling of this disc is just not enough. The material and the musicianship is so outstanding, that the late, great bandleader Woody Herman himself, would be proud of the way this group of jazz icons, has so elegantly represented the original Brothers section.
"Now & Then" is the fifth album from The Carpenters, released on May 9, 1973. In Cash Box Year-End Charts of 1973, Now & Then appeared at number 20. The song "Sing" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number-one on the easy listening chart, and it became the group's seventh gold single. Side "B" of the album featured an oldies medley. The medley starts with the Carpenters' original, "Yesterday Once More". Tony Peluso, the Carpenters' electric guitarist, is heard as a radio DJ throughout the medley, which included such songs as "The End of the World", "Dead Man's Curve", "Johnny Angel" and "One Fine Day".{ wikipedia }
Usually the name Gold: Greatest Hits means "avoid this album." Many times small labels will buy the rights to some obscure songs by a big-name artist and then release it under that very title. But despite the name, this collection keeps the crap in the middle of the album, buried between the good stuff. In fact, this is a really good retrospective of this band. The dark and lonely ballads that Karen Carpenter sang take center stage, pushing brother Richard's pop contributions to the background. The album starts strong enough, featuring several of their biggest hits, including "Superstar," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Goodbye to Love," and "It's Going to Take Some Time." And the album ends with more big hits, such as "Top of the World," "(They Long to Be) Close to You," and "We've Only Just Begun"; even their Klaatu cover, "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft," makes it. But the middle is a danger zone of filler, featuring forgettable tracks like "Please Mr. Postman" and its ilk. But this collection has the requisite amount of good Carpenters songs to make it worthwhile, and anyone who does not have these songs on album should give this a listen.
There may be too many Carpenters compilations on the market – there are certainly enough to confuse the average neophyte – but Love Songs is a welcome addition to the clutter, since it offers 20 of the duo's very best love songs, including "We've Only Just Begun" and "Top of the World." Anyone looking for a collection of the duo's romantic songs should definitely consider this fine collection, even it does leave off some of their poppier, rock-inflected material.